Of Mourning and Convenience
by skyswalker
Summary: "Guests came to greet her after the ceremony, offering her milky-white roses as a sign of goodwill, falseheartedly wishing her the best of fortune as a newlywed. She twirled the gifted roses in her hand, contemplating. Where Katara was from, white flowers signified mourning. How fitting, she thought…" an arranged marriage AU.


The wedding ceremony was short in retrospect. All Katara could recall from the ceremony was the grandiose melody of the flutists, dozens of bouquets of white roses ornamenting the aisle, and the empty vows she and Zuko spoke to one another.

It had been a pompous affair even though only Zuko's relatives, the social elites, and the Fire Lord himself had been in attendance. The latter had been particularly interested in the affair. After all, he was the one who had arranged the wedding.

Their marriage had been one of political and economic convenience, a way to unite the wealthy Fire Nation with the struggling Southern Water Tribe. Fire Lord Iroh had understood that despite years of animosity, the water tribe could be a valuable trade partner - with their collection of thick furs, blubber from the local marine life, and vast maritime knowledge, Fire Lord Iroh had known that much could be gained from a mutually beneficial partnership. There was too much bad blood between the Fire Nation and Northern Water Tribe - decades of war could do that to their people, so the Fire Lord had settled for its less hostile southern sister. The Fire Sages had recommended a marriage to solidify the strength of their association, ensuring a degree of accountability and responsibility of the Water Tribe to the Fire Nation, and vice versa. But Katara couldn't recall the specifics and particulars of it all, not that it mattered much. Regardless, she was married now. To Prince Zuko of all people.

Not that she hated Prince Zuko. She didn't mind Prince Zuko. In truth, she hadn't really thought of him much before the Fire Lord's proposal of an arranged marriage. The only times she had ever really encountered him were on annual, diplomatic visits to the Fire Nation, or the few rare times the royal family had visited the Southern Water Tribe.

Either way, Zuko was the obvious choice of groom, as he was considered to be the crown prince after Fire Lord Iroh's son had tragically died during the siege of Ba Sing Se. All that was needed was a bride, _the perfect bride_. A young reputable woman of the southern water tribe with the capability of personifying the perfect Fire Nation princess. _Poised, opulent, reserved_.

Yuka, a graceful, dignified girl from her tribe two years her senior, had fit the bill perfectly. But she had been intended for another since birth back home. So that left Katara - brash, brazen, outspoken, _Katara_. Though her family had protested vehemently, Hakoda was eventually deterred by the Fire Lord's approval of Katara's candidacy. Hakoda conceded with a heavy heart but understood the benefit of such an alliance.

And the wedding preparation had begun, much more quickly than Katara had been expecting. Her wardrobe was tailored, invitations were sent, a venue set. Within a month's time, Katara was stepping onto Fire Nation soil, with the intention of being married to her betrothed within the week.

And the day had arrived too suddenly. No longer was it just an abstract idea anymore, marrying Zuko for the greater good of her tribe. It was a reality. It became reality as she walked down the aisle, recognizing no familiar face in the crowd but the Fire Lord himself. She hadn't wanted her family there. Not for _this_. It was reality as she came to stand beside Zuko, adorned in the finest of satin suits, royally embroidered, with all the traces of affluence and posterity. And it was her reality as his hand came to clasp her's, with hollow words tumbling from her lips, words that were not her own rolling past her traitor tongue and sealing her fate.

Guests came to greet her after the ceremony, offering her milky-white roses as a sign of goodwill, falseheartedly wishing her the best of fortune as a newlywed. She twirled the gifted roses in her hand, contemplating.

Where Katara was from, white flowers signified mourning. _How fitting_ , she thought…

* * *

Being married to Zuko had been less difficult than she originally thought. She hadn't known what to expect from him. And she had been under the impression that she and Zuko were very different people — where he seemed to be aloof, quick to anger, yet oddly restrained, she was sociable, charitable, and outgoing. But they were as equally trapped in the marriage as the other. So eventually they came to a mutual understanding, learning how to engage with and respect the other person.

It was amicable, and not totally uncomfortable. Katara got the feeling that Zuko wasn't used to sharing his life so intimately with someone else. So Katara didn't press, not that she felt particularly inclined to, anyway; it wasn't like Zuko was trying to get to know her much, either.

Eventually, though, they came to learn and appreciate certain qualities of the other person. And oddly, she developed a sort of fondness for him. They were much more alike than she had suspected. With their temperaments, morality, and prevailing dispositions being quite similar, they generally lead a peaceful cohabitation.

Their similarities were evidence of a natural kinship between the two; they complemented each other. And they grew comfortable with the everyday, comfortable with the company of one another. She even came to learn that Zuko was actually a gentle, compassionate young man through little acts of kindness - with morning strolls by the turtleduck ponds, an encouraging smile as she tried to adapt to life in the fire nation, and a comforting hand on her shoulder when she got homesick. She knew now that he had just been accustomed to disguising his true character. After the first early months of their marriage, Katara would have described him as a good friend.

But just as a soon as they had settled into a routine, her reality changed again. The Fire Nation's economy had collapsed unexpectedly, leaving the water tribe with no incentive to continue their economic partnership.

And suddenly, their marriage wasn't needed anymore. Annulment papers were quickly drawn up by the Fire Sages, which Katara was more than happy to sign. She yearned for home: for warm brotherly hugs, her parent's smiling faces, and the crisp winter winds. But when she had glanced at Zuko from across the ornate table, as she penned her signature in foreign script on the finalizing documents, she observed a familiar _anguish_ in Zuko's eyes. An uncomfortable feeling settled in her chest as she thought of Zuko's haunted gaze while the annulment papers were officialized, sealing her fate once again.

* * *

They didn't see each other for a long time after that.

Katara returned to her tribe soon after the annulment proceedings, trying to refamiliarize herself with her former routines and schedules. Eventually, the novelty of the situation wore off and she readapted to her old life.

But Zuko seemed to struggle with it more, the few times a year she ever saw him. He seemed like he was coping with the loss of a confidant, a friend. _Though it seems like more than that_ … Katara thought.

So sometimes, at a diplomatic event or an ambassadorial function, she'd watch him. She'd watch him stare aimlessly through windows, into bleak nothingness, or shift his intense golden eyes so they were directed towards _her_. And she'd witness his same melancholic gaze. Eventually, she realized why she had felt so disturbed at the annulment signing, so perturbed by the look in his eyes. For it would have been the very own look she had in her eyes on their wedding day, as she twirled milky-white roses between her fingertips. He was in _mourning_ , but she suspected, for entirely different reasons…


End file.
